Cui's mother frowned again and continued, "But pears are not easy to preserve. Otherwise, we can take them to town and sell them!" Difficult to preserve? She thought of digging a cellar to preserve them, but she didn't see any cellars here. Maybe the people here didn't have that method? Then she suggested, "Second Aunt, maybe we can dig a cellar to preserve the pears."
Second Aunt looked over, her face full of confusion, which confirmed to her that there was no underground cellar here to store food. "Second Aunt, it's just like the ice cellar we had before." After hearing this, she suddenly understood. "The ice cellar could store ice, so the underground cellar can store food."
She suddenly thought of something and asked hurriedly, "What about keeping food in the ice cellar? Will it last longer?" A hint of delight crossed her face when she heard Second Aunt's words. Second Aunt was really drawing inferences from one example. How was this different from a modern refrigerator? She thought that in the summer, perhaps she could go to the ice cellar to get some fruit to eat. That would be much safer than taking it out of her space.
There are many delicacies that are made with ice. Oh, yes, it seems that ice can also be made with saltpeter. Just when she was wandering in outer space and missing the delicacies of her previous life, she was suddenly slapped on the head. "What are you thinking about? Your saliva is flowing out." Seeing that it was her second aunt who was joking, she did not get angry and hurriedly handed the basket to her second aunt. "Don't you want to eat the pear paste made by her second aunt!"
Second Aunt glared at her and said, "You're just greedy." "Hehe." Being interrupted like this, she decided to make her capital first! She couldn't delay making spicy noodles any longer. Tomorrow she would go to the county to buy tofu skin and make spicy noodles when she came back in the afternoon!
After returning, she split the chili peppers in half, making chili sauce and chili powder. These were all ingredients she would need to make spicy noodles later. The chili powder still needed to be ground, and she wondered if she could buy a grinder in town. Her eyes moved, her mind racing. If the stone mill was too expensive... she had another solution.
In the evening, Second Uncle returned with them. They'd had a good hunt today: five hares, three pheasants, and a large wild boar. Wu Ping said, "Brother Hong, borrow the village chief's ox cart tomorrow morning so we can go to town and process these roe deer. The fresher they are, the better the price they'll fetch."
Besides, he must have his own channels for hunting here, so I just let him handle it.
"In that case, let's have dinner here tonight. We can keep the rabbit for ourselves and sell the pheasants and wild boars." Tong Hong said calmly. Wu Ping agreed and said, "I'll do as you say, Brother Hong."
Wu Ping was very excited. Usually when he went into the mountains alone, he could only hunt some pheasants and rabbits because of his inconvenient hands, and occasionally he could hunt roe deer. He didn't expect that he could hunt a wild boar this time. If he hadn't been a burden, he might have been able to hunt two more wild boars!
At this time, the two men discussed the division of the rabbits. Three of the rabbits were used for frying, and the remaining two were given to Wu Ping to take back. Wu Ping declined and handed one back, saying, "My daughter had lunch at your place. I heard that she ate white rice. This rabbit is her lunch money."
Tong Hong patted his shoulder and stopped refusing. "Okay, let's drink tonight!" Second Aunt heard what he said and said, "Where can I get wine for you now? Let's drink it next time."
Tong Hong also realized that things were different now, so he didn't care. He waved his hand and said, "Okay, let's drink next time." Tong Wenyao was frying wild vegetables in the kitchen. When she heard them talking about drinking, she came out and said happily, "Second Aunt, I bought some wine on my way to the county the day before yesterday. It's not much."
"Just spoil your second uncle!" She collected the peppers that were dried today and put them in the woodshed.
Qian's mother was sewing a quilt nearby, smiling broadly, and saying nothing. Tong Wenyao was frowning in the kitchen. They say a good cook cannot cook without rice. She had actually forgotten to buy lard to make a lard, and was now using the lard she had made during her exile, and there was only a little left.
Seeing everyone busy outside, she closed the door, slipped into the space, and took out peanut oil and salt. She only took two days' worth, these two were what you'd see every day. As for the MSG and the like, she quietly took them in her hands and sprinkled them on.
She was thinking about going to the villa tonight to see if she could sell anything. After stir-frying the vegetables, she added the rabbit meat and added a lot of spices to suppress the fishy smell.
As she was frying, the door opened and Wen Jiang came trotting in, his eyes fixed on the pot. "Wen Jiang, if you're hungry, eat a pear first." He shook his head, but his eyes were still fixed on the rabbit meat in the pot.
"Why don't you light the fire so we can eat meat soon?" He nodded, then sat on a small bench in front of the stove, which had a missing corner, to light the fire. These stools and tables were all broken, having been given to them by the villagers because they didn't have any other needs. So, even now, the family was still very poor, but that didn't stop them from eating meat and rice. If anyone saw them, they'd probably say, "Gold and jade are ruined in this." But for Tong Wenyao, spending money only on what was needed, and enjoying it herself was the real enjoyment.
Wen Jiang, this impetuous creature, would teach Wu Zhu boxing for a cake, and would obediently light the fire for the sake of meat. After stewing for about half an hour, the aroma became stronger, and even the people in the courtyard could smell it. Wen Jiang stood by the stove, staring intently, her saliva constantly swallowing.
"Sister, when will it be ready?" She couldn't help but smile when she saw Wen Jiang like this, "You little greedy cat." After she finished speaking, she opened the lid of the pot, and the steaming mist drifted out with the fragrance, and the air was filled with a spicy smell. She added some chili peppers in it, but considering that people here might not be used to it, she didn't add much.
She scooped out two pieces, tasted one herself after they cooled for a while, and handed the other piece to Wen Jiang, "Try one first to see how it tastes." She tasted it carefully. Compared with what she had eaten in her previous life, it was even more delicious. After all, her previous life was full of technology and hard work. Now it was the original flavor. The numbness of the sansho filled her mouth, with a hint of spiciness. It was so delicious that the more she chewed, the more fragrant it became.
She looked at Wen Jiang and asked, "Is it delicious?" Wen Jiang nodded vigorously. He was reluctant to swallow it. It was much more delicious than what he had eaten in the restaurant in the capital.
After having him take it out, she cooked some vegetable soup. There were roughly three dishes tonight, not much to eat, but the rice was enough to fill her up. Second Aunt took a large bowl of rice and brought it out. Mother Qian set the table. When Qiu Zhen returned, she went back to her house to feed the chickens. Xin'er and Wen Jiang ran over to call her over to eat. She pulled out the rice wine she'd bought in the county from the kitchen cabinet. There was only a bamboo tube of wine in it. She had originally intended to use it to remove the fishy smell from cooking, but since Second Uncle wanted to eat it today, she decided to drink it first and then go back to the county to buy more tomorrow.
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